Astronomy Picture of the Day

NASA ^ | 3/4/08 | T. A. Rector (U. Alaska), T. Abbott, NOAO, AURA, NSF

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NGC 6334: The Cat's Paw Nebula
Credit & Copyright: T. A. Rector (U. Alaska), T. Abbott, NOAO, AURA, NSF

Explanation: Nebulae are perhaps as famous for being identified with familiar shapes as perhaps cats are for getting into trouble. Still, no known cat could have created the vast Cat's Paw Nebula visible in Scorpius. At 5,500 light years distant, Cat's Paw is an emission nebula with a red color that originates from an abundance of ionized hydrogen atoms. Alternatively known as the Bear Claw Nebula or NGC 6334, stars nearly ten times the mass of our Sun have been born there in only the past few million years. Pictured above, the end of the Cat's Paw nebula was imaged from the Blanco 4-meter Telescope in Chile.

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If this thing had begun as a valuable object displayed on a high shelf, I have a cat that could have easily made it look like that.

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[BlueStateBlues]

Very nice. Can’t wait for the Hubble upgrade mission in August.

[Young Werther]

I stopped by my CVS Phamacy today to pick up a prescription. There was a stack of Vivatar refractor telescopes 100X. they were priced at $14.99 and are well worth the price as a "starter" telescope. If you buy a few you can donate them to your local Boy/Girl Scout troop, YMCA, elementary school etc.

Ad Astra Y'all!

[mtbopfuyn]

That is a good representation of how I felt when mother told me how she voted.